I don’t know about you, but keeping up with the news is exhausting. This is, in fact, the excuse a lot of people give for disengaging from it entirely.

It’s hard to look around and see (counts on fingers…and toes) many distressing news stories. But it also can feel weird (or worse) to consciously avoid these things.

For example, Jason Kottke, the one-man blogging empire, has announced a pivot for the focus of his blogging: only things related to “the coup that’s happening in the United States right now.” He mentions that he’s only ever done that a few other times, notably after 9/11 and during the pandemic. And we know how the news felt during those times: relentless and scary. I worry on some level that too few of us are taking the current chaos being sowed by the Trump 2.0 Administration as on par with those events because it somehow feels more abstract.

I mention all of that not to bum folks out, but to highlight my own uncertainty when I sit down to write these newsletters. It’s not an exaggeration to say that these things could be filled with nothing but links to great reporting on all sorts of terrible realities right now, and as someone who’s taking all of that stuff in anyway, it feels important to share it. But, at the same time, I’m on a weekly cadence, and by the time some of the stories I read on the daily would reach you, they very likely would be old news. As a result, I don’t think these past three weeks have been filled with the most important stories of our day, but I hope some of them have provided you with distractions (even if the subject matter in some of them has been no picnic either).

I’m really writing about all of that to stress the importance of the simpler things, the happier things, the better things. The little pick-me-ups that have gotten me through dreary news and more. These won’t necessarily be your pick-me-ups, but they can serve as a reminder of the small things we encounter each and every day that bring us joy.

Watching a Friend Get a Job

This one had the potential to be bittersweet, if I’m being honest. My own seemingly interminable job search continues, so if you’d given me the choice ahead of time labeled generically “Watch friend get a job,” I might have passed on it. But I’m glad life doesn’t work that way. Because after seeing it, I know what I’d have missed out on. The terminology sounds wonky, I grant you, and many of you might be thinking, “What does it even mean to ‘watch’ someone get a job?” But I assure you, dear reader, that’s exactly what happened. I was sitting in the room as a friend listened (relatively calm, cool, and collected, I might add) to a voicemail, and when it was over, she told us she’d been offered a job. At one point, we event got to listen to it. I think what struck me was how excited the rest of us in the room were—those of us older and having held down full-time “adult” jobs before. This was my friend’s first offer at such, and there was just something incredible about watching what felt like the beginning of the next stage of her life. It felt good to sit in a space where there was genuine excitement for another person, to share in that moment and contribute my own small congratulations to the whole. It’s a hard one to organize and plan for ahead of time, but I highly recommend it.

”Helping” Someone Get Into Ph.D. Programs

One of my favorite parts of working for Mizzou’s Writing Center is helping students with their personal statements. Doesn’t matter what it’s for—I love it. I think what I love most about it isn’t the form of writing so much as the part of it that feels like an interview I’d do when I was a reporter. Here’s a reason reporter’s like what they do: It’s fun to learn about people and ask them questions about themselves. That’s essentially what’s required of helping students write a personal statement: They don’t always know their best stories or anecdotes to share. Sometimes they have an idea, but they don’t know how to integrate it into a larger statement. Solving these puzzles is immense fun for me. That could be its own happy thing right there, but every now and then, I’m lucky enough to hear that they thought it did them some good. Good luck led me to be standing in the Writing Center recently when a graduate student I’d worked with on several drafts of various personal statements came by to share some news: Not one, not two, but three Ph.D. programs (with the potential for more to come) had said yes. I didn’t actually do all that much, but again, to be in such close proximity to things working out for genuinely great people is a real treat.

Chance Encounters

I’ve written here before about our beloved Saturday morning routine (in warmer weather) of tennis and then brunch. I couldn’t tell you exactly when this began, but on our brunch outings, we made a friend. A particular server at our regular spot decided at some point that he liked us. He chatted with us warmly whenever we were at his table, and then at some point, he’d wave as soon as he saw us walk in and go to the host station to request things be arranged such that we were one of his tables (even if the only open table wasn’t in his section of the floor). He was so open and talkative (in addition to being a great server) that it was hard to imagine he didn’t treat every table just the same. But since the cold weather set in and holiday travels disrupted our time in town (plus a new job that took him away from the restaurant on Saturdays), we haven’t seen him since October or November. So imagine my surprise when, on a random afternoon trip to the grocery store, I see him walking in. I caught up with him in the produce section, and I could tell the “Hey, stranger” didn’t immediately register from the voice alone but then I saw his eyes light up with recognition. He wrapped me in a big hug, as I downloaded quickly about why we hadn’t been in the restaurant in so long. He downloaded about the birth of his little girl in November, and how they’d named her. It was a quick visit, with obligatory photos shown of mom and baby girl, and promises to catch up soon. He left me with another hug and a “Love you, man.” It was perhaps one of the purest interactions I’ve ever been party to and a testament to the power of simple kindness and how a genuine interest in other people can make a person feel so good—about himself, about the world, about the drudgery of shopping. I practically floated through the aisles, so happy for my good fortune.

Ten Worth Your Time

1. Here I am, starting yet another list of links with a long-read from Gary Shteyngart. And in a fit of pea-green envy. Again. Last week, it was hanging out with capybaras and writing about it for The New Yorker. This week, it’s his pursuit (and acquisition of) a perfectly tailored bespoke suit (and shirts and shoes) and getting to write about it for The Atlantic (also, probably have them pay for aforementioned bespoke clothing?). As they say: It’s really hard to see other people living your dream. It’s a charming accounting of the various steps required to get a personalized piece of clothing sourced and made to your exact measurements and quirks and imperfections. It’s a celebration of the finer things in life and finding something that lets the author feel just a little bit better about his appearance.
2. Libraries are absolute wonders, and perhaps even more so these days when many services are offered digitally. Hoopla, for example, is free for users with a library card, but those services cost your library a pretty penny when you elect to borrow something. That’s why this 404 Media story about the AI slop that’s been proliferating around the internet now flooding Hoopla’s digital offerings is so alarming: Our librarians have enough to deal with and wouldn’t it be nice if our tax dollars used to support our libraries weren’t being wasted by AI?
3. Speaking of AI infiltrating other aspects of life, this story from Allure (h/t The Browser for turning me onto it) is all about a (very likely) fake therapist, who supposedly specializes in relationship advice, and being used in a complicated web of internet shenanigans to boost the SEO rankings of a company that’s main purpose appears to be reviewing sex toys in order to earn revenue from affiliate links. It’s a thoroughly reported story, and it makes the process of that diligent reporting the actual text of the story—it’s all about documenting the steps the reporter went through trying to verify if this therapist who’d reached out to offer her services was actually a real person. The story demonstrates just how much cause AI gives us to doubt many of the interactions (especially online ones) that we once took for granted as being real.
4. In a shocking story also concerned with figuring out what is real, this recent story from The Cut was one of the saddest, most enraging things I’ve ever read. It follows the sordid tale of a young high school couple that was suddenly besieged by anonymous harassing text messages. Stalkerish, abusive, hateful things you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. It disrupted life in this small Michigan town, and the local sheriff’s office finally had to come in to investigate. To say much more would spoil the experience of reading it, but the culprit is the last person you’d expect.
5. Just in case you didn’t know: WIRED has been crushing it while reporting on all things Elon Musk-DOGE since news started breaking at a rapid clip that Musk’s team of youngsters were running roughshod through the halls of power in D.C. Most alarmingly, these largely unvetted coders were being given administrator-level access to some of the systems responsible for government payments that make up more than one-fifth of the U.S. economy. This link is to the entire archive from WIRED’S recent reporting. (For what it’s worth: A subscription is incredibly cheap, and the content is amazing. Consider supporting the magazine.)
6. I try to share stories by Justin Heckert whenever I see them. And while this one for Slate could easily be grouped with the other AI stories above, I choose to separate it out and consider it as different from those. The story is simple and tender and sad: One of Heckert’s college friends now has ALS, and as his motor functions have deteriorated, the friend group has bonded over the use of Midjourney, the AI image generator. The story wrestles with Heckert’s own distrust for AI, which mirrors my own, but he tells a more complicated story that says this tool, this silly thing, able to conjure the most absurd images you can imagine, brings his friend joy. And who can really argue with that?
7. I found something simultaneously encouraging and depressing about this New Yorker recap of a new book called Mixed Signals: Alien Communications Across the Iron Curtain, all about the U.S-Soviet search for extraterrestrial life. It was hopeful and pure in the ways that science can rise above politics and national interests and come together to search for truth and advancing human knowledge. But it was a bummer to see how easily and often it was thwarted by spy craft and potential nuclear war and overall distrust.
8. I don’t know if you’ve seen the newest show from Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan, but it’s a romp through West Texas’s Permian Basin as Billy Bob Thornton plays a Michael Clayton type for an oil Company. The show, Landman, opens with a stolen plane landing on a road while a van races up to it—drug smuggling, Texas-style. As the drug smugglers are doing their work in a hurry on the road, a big rig pulling an oil tanker tops a hill and, without time to stop, plows through the plane and van, in a big kaboom. Sounds like I spoiled something, but only barely. It’s literally the second thing that happens in the show’s pilot. I mention it because when Thornton’s character finally arrives to deal with the mess, his first response is to get on the phone and tell someone that they need a road built around the accident. It’s to communicate how valuable the company’s time and shipments are—can’t wait for the existing road to be cleaned up; it’s cheaper and better to just build a whole new section to serve as a detour. I thought about that scene as I delighted in this relatively brief story from The Guardian about a(n) (un)tidy little mystery in Lichfield where, under the cover of night, some 30 tons of garbage were dumped in the middle of the road. It was a huge mess, and it disrupted business operations of nearby stores and restaurants and more. It was a great example of something big happening that provided a news hook and allowed the reporter to talk about bigger systemic issues than just the mystery at hand. The story also taught me a new term. It made repeated reference to “fly-tipping” to the point where I had to search the term to know what it meant. Turns out it’s just the name the Brits have for the illegal dumping of trash. Just loved that.
9. Here’s another example of someone living out a dream of mine: Giving an ape exactly what it wants.Smithsonian Magazine recently ran a story about a breakthrough in our understanding of what great apes know. The experiment is simple: A treat is placed under one of three cups, but the ape only gets the treat if the human in the experiment (the part I was born to play) gives it to the ape. The interesting part is sometimes the human would not be watching where the treat was placed, but the bonobo was watching, and when the bonobo realized the human had no idea, it acted much quicker in telling the human where the treat was hidden. It may tell us a lot about our own evolution, and it’s just exciting to see them working through the problems.
10. This article from The Washington Post didn’t catch my attention so much because of incredible storytelling or format or anything like that. It’s very, very simple, but the subject is inspiring. Evie Riski just turned 100 years old, and she’s been keeping a journal every single day for 90 of them. I’ve mentioned how journaling and keeping a diary of sorts was my big goal for 2025, and this was a reminder of not only its value but also how relatively easy it is. It also comes with great advice, not just on writing in the journal every day, but in reviewing what we’ve already written.

More From Me

Over on my blog, I’ve been writing about various topics of interest to me.

To Laugh or Not To Laugh: A History of Breaking on SNL

WTF Was That?! Steven Soderbergh's 'Presence'

True/False Film Fest 2025 Lineup Announced

Adventure Lessons From Calvin and Hobbes

Where's James Bond?

Culture Diary

Here’s a collection of what I’ve been consuming in the past week.

The legend for my list was stolen from Steven Soderbergh, where ALL CAPS represents a movie, Sentence Case is a TV show, ALL CAPS ITALICS is a short film, Italics is a book, and bold is a live performance or show. A number in parentheses after a TV show highlights how many episodes I watched. An asterisk after an entry means it’s a rewatch. The source of the movie or show, whether streaming service, physical media, or in theaters, is shown in parentheses as well.

2/3: Twin Peaks: The Return (Paramount+)

2/4: PRESENCE (theater); Severance, S2 (AppleTV+)

2/5: Interview with the Vampire (AMC+)

2/6: Twin Peaks: The Return (Paramount+); SINGLES (Criterion Channel)

2/7: Severance, S2 (AppleTV+); Prime Target (AppleTV+)

2/8: Landman (3) (Paramount+)

2/9: Landman (Paramount+); Super Bowl LIX (Tubi)